1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of food processing, and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to the field of removing casings from food links and the like.
2. Description of Prior Art
In the making of food links such as weiners, frankfurters, link sausage and the like, a mixture of ground meat and sometimes compatible fillers is forced into a tubular casing, which forms an elongated tube filled with an edible compound. The tube is then constricted at intervals to produce links. The links are cooked, smoked, or otherwise processed so as to establish each link as an individual entity of edible composition. While the links may be separated prior to cooking or the like, it has been found to be a manufacturing expedient to maintain the links in a string of links until the processing has been completed, whereupon the links are separated.
The casings employed for such usage may be edible casings prepared from the intestines of edible animals, or synthetic casings substantially similar to natural casings. These natural casings are edible, and it is the discretion of the food processor as to whether to market the links with or without such casings. Synthetic casings have also been developed for the purpose of containing and forming the links while cooking or the like, and which require removal prior to human consumption. When such casings are removed, the food link products are commonly referred to as "skinless" links.
Over the years, skinless food links have become popular and in much demand, generally because of a more tender food product. With this increase in demand, the large number of food links produced has outstripped the early means of casing removal. That is, at one time it was common in the food industry to produce such skinless food links by manually slitting and peeling the casings from the food links. As this was costly, time-consuming, and gave rise to sanitary problems, it became necessary to develop machines that could rapidly decase the food links.
A common synthetic material used for the casing of food links is polyethylene film, an example of which is commercially available under the trademark "Visqueen," made by the Visking Company, a division of Union Carbide Corporation, Chicago, Illinois. Such material provides a very tough casing that is practically unremovable except by slicing or the like. Since polyethylene film is very thin, on the order of 1/1000 of an inch thick or less, the removal of polyethylene casings or other such synthetic casings has presented a very difficult task of automation to the food processing industry.
Machinery developed by the prior art for removing casings from food links and the like has necessarily been complex, requiring precision cutters and generally delicate and troublesome casing removal techniques. The very nature of handling food products presents the customary sanitary requirements common in the food processing industry, and presents additional problems introduced in moving food links rapidly while accurately positioning the same relative to slitting assemblies, vacuum removal systems, and the like.